


The Incubator: The Danny Interludes

by heffermonkey



Series: The Incubator Verse [7]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010), Original Work
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe - Slavery, Angst, Community: 1_million_words, Love, M/M, Master/Slave, master - Freeform, slave - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-28
Updated: 2013-10-28
Packaged: 2017-12-30 18:18:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1021878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heffermonkey/pseuds/heffermonkey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Variety of tag fics for The Incubator series telling Danny's side of the story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tag for 'The Incubator'

Tag Scene for 'The Incubator'. Set at some point just before Steve becomes pregnant with Grace. Danny receives a visit from an old friend who is there to talk some sense into him and to get to the bottom of Danny's unthinkable actions.

~  
"Clear his diary for this afternoon."

Danny glanced up from his desk in surprise at hearing the voice, standing up as Jules came into his office with a not to be messed with look on his face. Danny knew it all too well and rocked back on his heels. 

"Ju? What are you doing here?" he asked, surprised, grinning stupidly at seeing him there in his office and not thousands of miles away in New York. But he was wary and a little concerned about the attitude Jules was exuding.

"You are coming with me," Jules informed him, taking his suit jacket from where it hung by the door and thrusting it at him over the desk. Without so much as a 'Hi, how are you? It's been a long time'. "We need to talk."

"Okay," Danny said carefully, taking the jacket and knowing all too well he needed to tread carefully with Jules in this mood. "About anything particular?"

"Oh I'm not sure where to fucking start Daniel," Jules snapped, giving him a sour look. "Hurry up."

"Did Mal kick you out of the wrong side of the bed this morning?" Danny laughed albeit nervously, as he pulled on his jacket and rounded the desk. Jules looked at him unimpressed and gave him a small shove for the comment.

"Actually your Dad and I have been talking," Jules informed him. "Think of this as an intervention Danny, one Mal was happy to propel me into."

"An intervention?" Danny said, finding himself being firmly guided out of his office. He looked weakly at his assistant who looked confused but daren't say anything under Jules' warning stare. Danny gave a small shrug, thankfully he had a pretty free afternoon to catch up on paperwork and no pressing meetings to attend to.

"Yeah, an intervention," Jules said as he pushed him lightly into the elevator. "Because right now, neither myself nor your dad can understand what the fuck is going on with you lately."

"Jules," Danny began as the elevator descended.

"No," Jules cut him off with a raised palm and a stare. "We are going to drive, we are going to drive until I've calmed down. Then we are going to park up and we are going to talk. We are going to talk about you, about whatever is going on in that fucking head of yours that has been turning you into a person I don't know anymore. Maybe then we'll get to the bottom of things. But until then, you will Shut. The fuck. Up."

Danny looked at him, surprised, shocked, seeing Jules meant every word and glaring at him daringly to say even one word, express one sound. Instead he slumped against the wall and sighed, conceding the fight.

~

The drove for long time, Jules kept his eyes on the road and Danny kept giving him nervous glances before staring off over the vast ocean as they followed the coastal route. He wondered if Jules even knew where they were headed, because so far they were out of the city but travelling further and further away from home also. But he stayed quiet as Jules had ordered and just waited, nervous. Because he knew in part what this was going to be about and he was dreading having to face up to the truth of everything going on in his life. Trust Jules to physically get himself back into his life to confront him. This wasn't a conversation for over the phone despite that they spoke three or four times a week.

Eventually they pulled in by the side of the road. Danny unclipped his belt as Jules did the same, but they didn't get out of the car. Danny smiled, remembering times when they'd driven all over together when they were young, to the many make out points kids tended to frequent. 

They never used to get out of the car then either.

"I'm sorry," Jules said after a long pause. Danny looked at him, glad he was mellowing a little. Jules could be a terror when he was in a bad mood. "About the way I yelled before. But I was telling the truth Danny. You've got me so worried and concerned about you that I've had to fly thousands of miles just to fucking confront you?"

"I'm sorry Ju," Danny replied meekly.

Jules gripped the steering wheel hard before looking at him closely, eyes taking him all in. Danny hadn't ever been able to hide anything from Jules and he knew that was one of the reasons Jules wanted to see him face to face when they talked. He wouldn't be able to hide anything this way.

"So what's going on?" Jules asked him carefully.

"What do you think is going on?" Danny countered in irritation, because he couldn't honestly think where to start.

"I think you're confused or afraid," Jules told him. "I think you're making wrong judgements because of that fear. I think you're in danger of destroying something so pure and precious because you're afraid of the consequences if you take a risk."

Danny rolled his eyes at him, "You're talking in riddles now?"

"I'm talking about you and Steve," Jules told him matter of factly.

"Steve?" Danny repeated, looking out of the window again. His mouth went dry and his heart rate picked up a notch, he felt suddenly uncomfortable, the car too close a space to be talking about Steve.

"Yeah, Steve," Jules said with a nod. "Danny, I don't know what is going on but are you purposefully going out of your way to break him? You know I never, never considered you'd become the kind of Owner who could be cruel. But fuck Danny, I just, I don't know any more. I don't know."

Danny turned back to stare at him, sickened a little by the statement and terrified of it's implications.

"You think I'm cruel?" Danny said, feeling himself deflate. "You think I'm a cruel Owner?"

Jules looked at him and reached out a hand sympathetically, resting it at the back of Danny's neck as he replied gently. "I think you've done some things lately which have hurt Steve. Kind of things that are hurting you too. I just don't understand because it isn't like you Danny and I need to understand what is going on in that head of yours. I'm sorry but the way things have been, yeah, it's been cruel. And it's hurting me to say that to you."

"You're talking about the babies aren't you?" Danny asked quietly, trying to fight the tears burning in his eyes.

"You bought an Incubator to start a family," Jules said softly. "Yet when he's followed out that purpose you've rejected it- him- twice. You're hurting yourself and Steve and I don't know why but I want to know. I want to know because I know you need to talk about it only for some reason you haven't. You've shut yourself off from me, your Dad, everyone who cares about you. Why'd you do it Danny?"

"What I told you about the first baby is true Jules," Danny said honestly. "I needed the money to save the company."

"There were other ways to get the money," Jules told him. "I know you've still got some of your inheritance tied up in stock. More than adequate to have covered your financial troubles. And you could have asked me, you know I'm good for it. Me or your dad, we'd give you anything, you know that."

"It was pride Ju," Danny said, looking at him. "It's my company and I wanted to save it on my own terms. I don't go running home to my father or best friend every time I have a problem."

"So you thought the answer instead was selling your baby?" Jules accused sharply and Danny shuddered, looking away.

"I wanted a girl," he said quietly. "For some reason, ever since I was young I had it in my head I wanted a daughter if I ever started a family. I didn't want a boy, I didn't think I'd love a son the way I should because it wasn't what I really, truly wanted. And there are so many people out there wanting kids Ju, who can't for whatever reason, you of all people know that. The couple they gave the baby too, they really wanted him, I mean they really really wanted him. They'd have paid ten times the credit for him. You know how it these days, you can pick and choose the kind of family you want to have, especially if you've got the credit. When Steve found out the baby had been adopted, fuck I've never felt so bad. We don't talk about it, because I don't know where to start to explain how sorry I am for at least not telling him from the start that we weren't keeping the baby. I didn't realise the implications, how emotionally attached he would become. He's just a slave, just the Incubator - I didn't think it would hurt the way it did. Fuck he just, shut down, withdrew into himself again. I convinced myself that he was okay, after a few weeks it was as if it hadn't happened. He's a slave, he's supposed to just get on with his life. He wasn't supposed to be emotionally connected."

Jules rubbed his hand against his neck and shoulders softly, a comfort as Danny unloaded the baggage he'd been carrying so long. He'd not spoken to anyone in detail about the adoption or his reasons and he still felt terrible about those reasons.

"So this second time, when you found out it was a boy, you decided it would be easier not to make Steve suffer an entire Incubation with the same ending?" Jules asked gently. 

Danny nodded mutely, wiping away hot tears threatening to spill out.

"Fuck I just," Danny began, shaking his head and putting a hand on his face. "I stood by and watched him in fucking agony. Something I'd inflicted on him, because of what I wanted. Because of some idea of a perfect fucking family I have in my head. I justified my actions in making him suffer through the termination because he's a slave, he didn't have a choice but to accept my decision. Gods I am cruel aren't I? What kind of person does that to someone? And you know what the strangest thing is, he doesn't seem to hate me for it. He just accepts that because I'm his Master I can do that to him. After everything he's been through, his entire life he just accepts it. We're trying again, fuck I just, I told him we'll keep trying until we get the right result. He said he didn't want to go through another termination again and I told him he had no choice even though I've watched him suffer. What kind of person does that make me?"

Danny broke down, the weight of guilt lifting a little as he told the truth. There were few people in his life he'd confide so openly with, but he trusted Jules wouldn't abandon him for his actions. He knew his dad was disappointed with his recent decisions but he'd not been able to tell him the truth either and it had caused a small barrier to rise up between them. Jules just sat and let him cry out the anger and pain he'd been inflicting upon himself and Steve.

"I'm sorry," Danny eventually said, looking over at Jules. "I know I've fucked things up."

"No," Jules shook his head at him. "You've just made some bad decisions. I know you Danny remember, you aren't a bad person. But you get so focused on something, so head strong in that focus, you lose sight of what else is being affected. You're so focused on the baby, you're not looking at the bigger picture when it comes to Steve and who he's become in your life."

"What are you saying?" Danny asked with a frown, thoughts of Steve swimming in his head.

Jules looked at him with a knowing gaze, "Come on Danny, you can deny it to everyone else but I know you, you're in love with him."

"He's a slave Ju," Danny said with a shake of his head. He sat back and looked away from the piercing gaze Jules shot back at him.

"Didn't stop your father and Laka," Jules retorted. "Theirs is one of the strongest, loving relationships I've ever seen. You know John would never deny what he feels for Laka, no matter what society may think about it."

"I'm not like him," Danny still denied it, because it was too complicated to give in to the idea of it.

"Tell me how you feel about him isn't the same way you felt about us all those years ago," Jules insisted. "Look me in the eye and tell me how you feel about him is just the same way you feel about your other slaves."

Danny stuck out his chin stubbornly and refused to look at him. "I don't have to prove anything to you Ju. You've got it all wrong."

"Danny, it's okay to admit it," Jules assured him. "The longer you resist admitting it, to yourself and him, the more hurt you're both going to be in the end."

"It's too complicated Ju," Danny sighed, shaking his head again. "Dad and Laka, that's different; Dad knew from the beginning."

"And you didn't," Jules laughed a little, running a hand through his own hair. "Gods Danny, ever since you bought him you've talked about him. And not just because you were trying to start a family. It's only as complicated as you make it."

"He's a slave," Danny said stubbornly. "It would always be complicated."

"Since when have you been the kind of person to back out of a challenging situation?" Jules pointed out. "Why are you so afraid of loving him?"

"Because he can't love me the same way in return," Danny snapped out loudly, a well of anger rising within him. "After everything I've done to him, after the life he had before I even bought him. I've done nothing to earn any kind of love from him. All I've done is shown him that I'm his Master and he will submit to my choices, even if those choices destroy him piece by piece. All he's learning is I'm no different to the other people who've Owned him. I'm just as capable of hurting him as they all have."

Jules reached over and pulled him to face him, looking into his eyes and wishing he could help wipe away all the hurt he was going through.

"You need to stop being afraid," Jules told him firmly. "You need to start showing him who you really are and how you really feel. It isn't too late Danny and by the sounds of it, he just needs someone to take a chance on him and show him some comfort and care. Slaves take care of us and it's our job to take care of them. Tell him how you feel, be honest with him."

"What if he doesn't feel the same way?" Danny asked quietly, feeling his emotions were like the ups and downs of a rollercoaster.

"You won't know until you talk about it," Jules shrugged. "Maybe he doesn't because he doesn't understand his own feelings. Slaves aren't exactly allowed to express their emotions like we are, it's something you have to slowly teach them to understand, if your patient enough to do that. You have to let him know that its safe to love you back, that it's okay to feel that way."

"How do I do that?" Danny asked, a little bewildered at how to even begin making up to Steve the things he'd done in the last year or so.

"Show him, prove it to him," Jules shrugged. "Talk to him."


	2. Tag for 'The Incubator' (Danny sleeps with Maui)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tag for 'The Incubator' - Danny is frustrated and angry with Steve's rejection of him when it comes to sex, a side effect of his Incubation. Rather than force the situation, though he's every right, Danny instead turns to someone else before the guilt descends about the consequences of his actions.

The drive doesn't clear my head or distract me from the surge of lust in my veins. Parking up I walk on the beach to get some air but all I can think about is going home and curling up with Steve in our bed, making love to him. A bristle of irritation thrums through me, makes my fingers itch and my jaw clench as I grit my teeth. I know the hormones are causing the rejection, I need to be more understanding. I know I could simply force the situation but even thinking such a thing makes me sick to my stomach. How can I even contemplate doing such a thing? Because I'm horny and need to fuck, it's been a long while and it's Steve, who drives me to distraction most of the time. Incubation suits him, gives him this glow, makes him softer from the extra weight he carries.

Fuck I can feel my dick stirring just from the thought of him, home alone in our bed. I shouldn't have left so abruptly but it makes me so mad at times. I'm his Master, but I can't demand he want me just because I need to fuck.

I take a walk, end up at one of the beach bars, it's the end of the week and it's already gathering a crowd. I take up a corner of the bar, order a beer and slowly drink, trying to think of anything other than the man in my bed waiting for me to come home. He'll be worried about my reaction, but feeling him so tense in my arms, so disgusted when I caress him and minutely implicate I want to get intimate. How am I supposed to react? It's either leave and drown my sorrows or do something I'll regret the rest of my life. I could never force myself on him, he wouldn't forgive me. I wouldn't forgive myself. Dad, Jules, gods how could I even face them again?

I swallow down the beer in long gulps, distancing myself from such thoughts. What the fuck is wrong with me? I'm sure other Owners wouldn't worry or care about such ideas towards their slaves but I can't think like that, about any slave, never mind Steve. I've already done some fucking gods awful things to him but that, I'd sell him first before I did that.

But it doesn't help my situation. I need to fuck, because a quick hand job isn't going to cut it. We've gone weeks without sex or anything physical between us that can satisfy my urges. I set the empty glass on the bar and consider another but I brought the car out and left Lei at home because I needed space and time to myself without any of the slaves. I've plenty of drinks at home, maybe if I have enough I'll drown my sorrows and bury down my frustration enough to pass out tonight. A hand job or several will have to suffice until Steve's hormones decide sex isn't all that distasteful with me.

I hit the beach again, walking to clear my head before I drive home. I go careful and soon pull up the house. I glance to the side where the window to our room looks out over the gardens, the light is still on, is he waiting for me to come back? It's getting late, curfew is in forty minutes or so but most of the slaves are already winding down. When I go into the house they are all settled in the family room watching TV, reading or talking quietly. There's a slight nervous air, they sense there's stuff going between Steve and me though they don't know the details. 

"You want anything boss?" Kame asks me when I appear.

"No, thanks Kame," I tell him, waving a hand for him to stay settled with the others. I like them to relax on the evening, enjoy themselves a little. I appreciate the hard work my slaves put in to keep my household running smoothly, efficently and with a sense of family. 

I go to my study to be alone, I can't go to the bedroom because I don't quite trust myself not to get angry and do something I'll regret. Instead I pour myself a scotch and swallow down the biting liquid. Liquor will dull my lusts I'm hoping, enough to make me want to crash instead of fuck. Time ticks by as I empty the glass and there's a tap at my door before it opens carefully, Maui looks nervously around it.

"We're all going to bed Sir, was there anything you needed?" he asks me.

I look over at him, scotch warming me through. He hasn't been with us long, I was in need of a slave to help Lei with some work around the house, especially with expecting the baby. He's young, fresh out of the camps. Slender, lean, a mass of dark hair that I imagine most Owners would simply have shaved every few weeks rather than see it remain so messy but I think it gives him character. He's got dark soulful eyes which take everything in. He's settled in nicely around the house but I've been quietly amused by his and Steve's dislike of one another. They don't let it affect their work but I know they don't really get along. Steve I suspect thinks Maui is too headstrong for such a young, fresh slave. 

He didn't have the greatest report accompanying him when I read through his papers before I bought him, but that's perhaps why I was drawn to him. Steve was surprised by my choice, but neither of us can't deny Maui isn't as hard working as everyone else. He's still nervous around me, not that hard to understand, I'm his first Owner and he has no idea what to expect from me. I've gleaned enough information over the years to understand the harsh reality of the training camps and the lives slaves live there before they are put onto the markets. Maui wasn't lucky enough to pass through them without being fucked a few times by one of his trainers.

"No, they can go to bed," I reply from my seat, giving him a smile. "Come and sit with me for a while."

He looks slightly surprised at the invitation but comes into the room, closing the door hesitantly and standing until I wave at the other seat in the room. He sits down and fiddles with the hem of his t shirt. He's got long fingers, already hard and calloused on the knuckles and palms from his labours. He ducks his head and his hair frames his face. I can't deny I haven't thought already that he's an attractive young man. I feel a stir of lust but push it aside, since buying Steve I've not taken any other slave to bed. Still, he's nice to look at and I find his innocence amusing and a bit of a turn on. I can see why he didn't pass un-noticed in the camps, even if I find the idea disturbing. Gods what must it have been like for him?

I pour out another three fingers of scotch and knock it back. The alcohol is beginning to give me a buzz as I feel it burn down my throat. I stare at Maui until he shifts nervously and glances up, dark eyes watching me intently as he swallows down.

"Was there something you needed Sir?" He asks me quietly. I smile at the timidity, see the look in his eyes, the flirtatious gaze. It belays his innocence.

I pour out another mouthful of liqour as he watches me, setting the bottle on the desk.

"Danny, Maui," I admonish him gently. "It's Danny."

I've never had a slave bow and cowtow to me like some Owners do. They know their place, I know mine, so why remind each other? Calling me Danny helps them relax and fit in as part of the household.

"Yes Sir," he nods, smile growing as he nods, dark hair brushing over his defined cheekbones. "Was there something you needed - Danny?"

I think over the question. What I really need is to go to Steve and tell him how I really feel. I need to get some clarity on our whole relationship and try and break through those walls he keeps building up every time I get close. Because I always do something to force him to take refuge behind them again and again. I'm a fuck up and gods, how does he not hate me? What I really need is to fuck him and make love to him and feel that connection that's been missing for weeks now. Incubation may suit him, but it does nothing for his sexual desires lately and being rejected by him bothers me, not only as his lover, but I feel like a Master with a rebelling slave and how fucked up is that? Being a lover and a Master is a big fucking deal to juggle sometimes.

"Sir?" Maui asks, sitting up now and looking at me warily. I swallow down the scotch in my glass and chase the buzz again.

"No, I just wanted some company," I tell him with a smile. "How are you finding life here Maui? Do you like living with us?"

He's got a look on his face like Steve used to when I ask him for an opinion before he got used with the fact that I was interested and liked to have conversations with him and all my slaves. It isn't a stupid question, I find if the slaves are happy then the household runs more efficiently and I like to get to know them beyond the boundries of Owner and slave. I like to know what they are feeling and thinking because it helps me connect with them better, helps them trust me. I can't own a slave where trust doesn't exist between us. They need to understand I'm here to take care of them, to protect them. They can't feel that if they don't trust me and I can't trust them if I don't know them.

"Yes Sir, I like it here," he replies with a nod of his head. Not much to go on but I'm working on him, in time he'll learn to relax and chill out around me.

"Danny," I correct him again with a raised finger and a teasing smile on my lips. 

He gives a small laugh and ducks his head but I can see the flush on his cheeks and the smile reaching his eyes. He likes the attention, considering the life he's come from within the camps, any slave would find it pleasing. I find his smile and slight nervousness gives me more of a buzz than the scotch. I set my empty glass down and sit forward in my seat, watching him as he glances my way again. Small, watchful glances framed by dark long lashes as he brushes his hair back from his face.

"You okay Danny?" He asks me carefully. "You seem a little-."

He pauses and gives a shrug of his slender shoulders. He's not as tall as Steve but he's got a similar frame, his skin an olive complexion, frame defined by muscles from his every day work. He's unsure he should be asking me such a personal question, being the newest slave, we haven't reached that point where we are comfortable talking with one another without restraint. I let the question hang in the air, liking how he looks nervous and anxious that he's overstepped his place, unsure of my reaction.

"It's been a long day," I reply before he gets too uncomfortable from my teasing. "And a long few weeks."

I sigh heavily because it has been, I've been stressed with work in the office, though business is good, especially with the latest development of brining in a partner company. But then I come home to someone I want and need to be intimate with and he keeps rejecting me, though I'm trying to understand it's Steve's hormones and I should be focused on him and the baby being safe and healthy until she arrives. But I can't ignore the anger it makes me feel or the helpness as a Master, it's like I'm two people and they are both trying to win. The considerate partner and the demanding Master. Thinking about it makes me bristle with anger, the alcohol and my irritation stirring inside me. I stare at Maui, feeling lust in my gut, he's young and beautiful and my dick is getting ideas.

I push myself to my feet and he stands too, unsure of my quick action.

"We should go to bed," I say, hand waving at the door.

"Yes Sir," he nods, turning away, thinking I'm dismissing him. I want to correct him calling me 'Sir' again but his saying it reminds me who I am. The Master of this household who right now is finding things pretty fucking frustrating with one of my slaves. I follow and pause as he goes to open the door, watching the way his shoulders stretch out the material of his tshirt as he reaches for the handle.

Who needs a self hand job or rejection when you have something like this in your reach. Part of me screams that it's a mistake but I push it aside. I'm fucking horny and have needs and by all the gods I've the right to satisfy myself. If Steve doesn't want me touching him, then I'll leave him be but that doesn't mean I'm going to leave those needs unsatisfied for who knows how much longer? I've a house full of slaves and there are no rules as to how many of them warm my sheets, even if I do own an Incubator and it's his place to be in my bed.

I reach out and put a hand on Maui's shoulder, he tenses from the touch and I squeeze my fingers to relax him, turning him to me. He seems caught out but I don't care, my lusts are urging me on now and I'm focused on one thing right now, getting myself off. Without a second thought I push in, hand sliding into his hair as I bury my mouth over his. My fingers tangle into the dark masses and it's strange, different to what I'm used to with Steve but that spurs me on. Because since owning Steve I've been with no-one else. This seems altogether exicting yet wrong but as I continue kissing Maui, encouraging him with my lips and tongue to open up to me, I cast aside doubts that I'm doing the wrong thing. The alcohol in my system dulls my guilt and spurs on my bodys reactions.

I'm a fucking Master and free man, no-one has the right to question my actions. Especially a slave.

Maui doesn't respond as I'd like but then he's got no clue what's going on. So I push him against the door, using my weight to pin him to it and keep my mouth working at his, sloppy and wet, all tongue and teeth. He tastes like pineapple and that reminds me of Steve, makes me hungry for more, makes me angry that this isn't him. That I'm forced to seek comfort and satisfaction elsewhere. Fuck him, fuck everyone. Maui makes a small sound like a whimper or a moan and I groan back my approval. Finally the need to breathe forces me back and I pull away, feeling his panting gasps hit my lips. 

I smile, taking him in, a wide eyed expression of surprise but as I lower a hand I feel his excitement growing in his pants under my fingertips and he bucks his hips into the touch.

"Sir," he says quietly, biting on his lower lip. I give my fingers a squeeze and laugh under my breath, wanting to lick my way along those lips where his teeth worry the skin.

"Danny," I repeat again, although perhaps Sir would be better for now. Less intimate, let him remember his place here. Then again I do have him pinned to the study door as I grope him, he's not in any doubt who's in charge of this situation.

"Danny," he swallows down, looks at me and then my mouth before he smiles. "What about-?"

I stop him saying Steve's name by pressing my mouth to his again. This time he kisses me back, hands sliding round my shoulders and I squeeze my fingers more meaningfully, receiving a groan of enjoyment from him. He doesn't need to think about Steve and neither do I. It's evident how much he wants this the way his cock is hard under my touch and he presses back against me. I let my lust take over, any rational thought receding as I feel him respond. This is my right, as free man and Master in my own household. I'll fuck who I like when I like and fuck everyone else who has a problem with it.

"I want you," I growl against his lips and the idea what I'm intending to do with him, that makes my dick twitch in my pants. The idea of his young agile body writhing under mine as I fuck him. I groan against his mouth with lusty enthusiasm.

Before he can reply I pull back, pull him out of the way and open the door. The house is bathed in darkness now, all the other slaves in their beds, house locked up for the night and I lead the way quietly and carefully to my bedroom. I feel him tense and still as we approach and turn blindly to him.

"Danny," he says nervously, trying to pull away and I know what he's thinking. I feel a surge of anger at his reaction. Fuck it all I won't be dictated to by any of my slaves, not the one I'm intending on fucking tonight and certainly not the one warming the sheets in the room beyond. Fuck Steve if he thinks I'll wait until he's in the mood for me to touch him, caress him and make love to him.

I pull Maui flush to me, feel his arousal against my thigh as he holds onto me to steady himself with a gasp.

"Only one person I want to be with tonight," I tell him firmly, ignoring the guilt that musters up within my gut at the lie. "Come on."

I pull him into the room, the lights are off and there's the silhouette of a shrouded form on the bed, I ignore the guilt that descends heavily as I pull Maui towards it with whispering empty promises to him as I pull at his tshirt. He lifts his arms and helps remove it before I push at his pants and he gets the message. As he pushes them off I strip down myself, pushing his naked body to the bed and pulling myself over him. I'm too buzzed and horny to make this last long and this being his first time with me I doubt he'll last long either. But I settle between his legs and start grinding our cocks together, feeling him buck in delight at the friction and whispering my name. It's good but not enough, I need the tightness of having my cock gripped and fumble for the lube from the side cabinet as I make him buck under me.

I smear the liquid onto my fingers, well aware of the figure lying beside us. I want him to hear us, fucking want him to feel hurt for making me look for pleasure in other people because he doesn't want me. He's forced me into this situation, at least that is what I try to convince myself. With a thrum of anger, at Steve, at myself, I lower my hand and rub fingers against Maui's hole, hearing him gasp. I whisper quietly against his ear as I probe, this isn't going to be comfortable for him but I go as slow as I can, telling him to relax and trust me. I hear his hitched breath by my ear as I breach him with a finger, carefully spearing him and encouraging him to enjoy it and take more. But I pay little attention to him save for the noises he makes under me. My cock throbs at the idea of entering this tight sweet hole that clenches around my finger. I push in another, enjoying how his hips lift to mine, he's lost in the sensations as I pull my hand free. Smearing lube onto my cock I line up and slowly start to push into him. 

He tenses and I soothe him again with endearments without pausing. I want to impale him and fuck him but I'm not going to hurt him in the process, fighting the urge to do just that. With Steve I can get posessive, spurred on by his reactions. He likes it when I get rough at times, enough to remind him physically who he is to me. Instead it's a mind fuck as I pierce Maui slowly and listen to his hitched breaths as he accomodates me. Eventually I settle against him, his long legs wrapped around my hips where I've encouraged them to be. He clings to my shoulders with his fingers and I can see the glint of his eyes in the muted light of night watching me carefully. I kiss him before I begin moving my hips, swallowing down his moans. Fuck he feels good, tight hole dragging against my shaft as I stretch him open. I'm not going to last, been needing this kind of connection for too long. He doesn't feel or respond like Steve but it still feels good.

I let myself enjoy the sensations, losing myself in the pleasure and ignoring the heavy guilt that accompanies our coupling. Maui moans softly under me and whispers my name which urges me on to chase my building pleasure. I get a hand wrapped around his cock, it's softened a little but I tease it back to hardness and keep going, hearing and watching him lose all control as I assault his senses with pleasures. His climax hits him quick and I can see his surprise as he comes, liquid pouring over my fingers onto his taught stomach, feel his muscles rippling inside which spurs me on and I fuck into him quickly to chase my own pleasure. I come with his name on my lips, feeling my cock twitch and empty inside him, grinding my cock into him.

It's like my orgasm clears my head and gives way to the guilt and knowing that this is all wrong. I slide out of him onto my side and my eyes settle on the form beside us. Steve lies too stiff and quiet for me to believe he's asleep and fuck, what have I done? I want to reach out and touch him but Maui is still beside me, in our bed, my fingers sticky with his come. This entire situation is wrong and dirty and I can't remember why I'm trying to destroy whatever it is that exists between us. Why does this all have to be so fucking frustrating?

I look down at Maui as we both catch our breath from the fucking, fuck what did I do? To him? To Steve? Maui glances up at me and I want to hide, consumed with humilation and guilt. I'm their Master and have every right to fuck who I want, when I want, so why do I feel as guilty as a man whose just cheated on their spouse? I roll away from Maui, guilt ridden and sick to my stomach.

"Danny?" he whispers, sensing the change in my attitude at a loss as to what to do now.

"Get out," I tell him without looking him in the eye. I'm a fucking dog I know to send him away but fuck I can't look at him or talk to him right now. I ignore him and give him the cold shoulder as he obeys, gets up from the bed, retrieves his clothing and leaves silently. I lay down and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to ignore the hot tears that are suddenly there. What the fuck have I done? I ask myself again. Not only do I feel the heavy guilt of betryal for doing this to Steve, but also for taking advantage of Maui and then sending him away like that. Fuck who am I? What am I becoming? What little trust we may have been building up has been dashed into pieces.

Eventually the bed moves and I hold in a gasp, my suspicions were true. Steve is awake. I bury my head in my hand as I feel him sit up and then stand.

"Steve?" I ask quietly into the darkness, I can't look at him.

"Back ache," he tells me after a long pause. He sounds distant, not himself. Fuck he heard it all and can't say anything about it. I want to die right now from the overwhelming shame.

"Want me to massage it for you?" I ask him weakly, as if nothing has happened. Fuck I'll do anything to make up for what I've just done. I want to get on my knees and beg for forgiveness. Instead my throat seizes up with a lump and tears threaten to fall. 

"No, it'll be fine," he tells me, an obvious lie, I don't need to see his face to hear it in his voice. I listen to the door of the bathroom click shut. 

I pull the pillow to me and bury my face into it. I don't hear any noise from the bathroom, I know he's hiding in there. I lay and wait, wondering how to pick up the peices but he doesn't come out and though I can order him to, I leave him be. He's every right to feel hurt and act on it. 

He's every right to hate me, now more than ever.

~

I wake early the next day, my head feels heavy and full of cotton, my mouth dry. Pain lingers at my temples, a dull throbbing. Full of guilt and pain that is all self inflicted, I can't feel sorry for myself. I get up quietly so as not to disturb Steve, quickly wash and dress before I stand by the bed looking at him. The baby bump is protruding well now and he sleeps on his side, bump supported by a pillow. He looks peaceful and I want to lean down and stroke him, kiss him, see him wake as peacefully as he sleeps and think what happened last night was a nightmare. Instead I leave the room, fearful of seeing his hurt at my betrayal.

Kame is already awake and preparing breakfast, surprised to see me. I make an excuse about having to go to the office even though it's a saturday, I pour out a coffee to go and escape the house. I can't face Steve or Maui. Not yet. 

I take the car again and drive along the coast, remembering back some months when Jules appeared suddenly and demanded to know what was going on with me. That makes me choke on my coffee as the tears threaten again and I pull off on a secluded spot high up on the road, overlooking the ocean. 

I cry, kind of tears that emerge from deep down, from the guilt and the shame of what I've done. From the frustrations that I feel towards him about us. What kind of person am I? What the fuck would Jules think of me if he found out about this?

I get out my phone, lingering on the urge to call him. I need to talk to someone and he's my closest, dearest friend. But I'm not sure I want to know what he'll say to me, because he's going to be shocked to hear it and he won't hold back on telling me the truth of what he thinks. I told him I'd try with Steve, try and figure out our relationship, quit denying I'm in love with him.

What person does what I've done to a person they love? How many times will I try and convince myself he's just a slave and that I shouldn't feel like this?

Instead I scroll through names, hit speed dial and put it to my ear, wiping hot tears from my face. It's still early and I wonder if they're still asleep when Laka answers. I feel a jolt of shock go through me as I hear his voice, shame heaping up like bucket loads within me.

Gods what do I say to him? 

"Papi," I say, voice breaking as I say his name. Suddenly I'm a kid again and I want him here to hold me until the bad times are over. Like he did when Pop died and suddenly mine and Dad's world was twisted upside down.

"Danny? Hi," Laka say sleepily before a pause of clarity, realising I'm calling early and don't sound myself. "Are you okay son?"

The son is what breaks me. What kind of son do I reflect on any of them? Gods does Nick look at me from where he is now and wonder what kind of person I am, what kind of son he brought up? Dad is already dissapointed with me over whats gone on the past few years with the babies. I dissolve into tears right there on the side of the road, Laka on the other end of the phone, hundreds of miles away waiting for me to answer. I shake my head even though he can't see me, run a hand over my face and try and breathe as I hear Dad in the background asking what's going on. 

"Danny's on the phone," Laka tells him before speaking to me. "It's all right Danny, just take your time."

Time, I wish I had time. I'd do things over the right way. Show Steve from the start how I felt, explain myself, quit jerking him around and trying to find balance between Owner and slave, quit trying to find explanation for how I feel towards him. I always figured it was supposed to be as difficult as I made it, it's never been easy for Dad and Laka but Dad made it work despite the hardship. But instead of learning from him, I've tried it my own way and ended up hurting Steve in ways that I'm more than deeply ashamed of. I wish he hated me, then maybe this would be easier, maybe I'd find it in me to sell him on and just live with the pain of not having him in my life. I'd be crushed and lost, alone and broken but I'd not be fucking with his life and emotions any more. It's a cowardly way to think but that's what I am already, worse than that.

"Danny?" Laka says as I just cry and try and catch my breath.

"I've really fucked up Papi," I admit with choked breaths, though I'm loathe to give him the details.

"Where are you Danny? Are you at home?" Laka asks me patiently, gently.

"No, no," I reply with a shake of my head. "I'm parked out at some roadside spot. I can't be at home right now."

"Do you want to talk to your Dad," Laka says and I bark a 'no' down the phone quickly. I can't talk to Dad yet, not yet. I'm too full of guilt to admit to him what's happening and I'm afraid of the truth he's going to tell me.

"Okay," Laka tells me, still gentle and quiet. "Then why don't you tell me what's going on?"

"I did something last night," I begin, wiping tears and snot from my face with my sleeve, like I'm a kid again and not a thirty something man who should have control of his life. "Something bad."

"Can you tell me what?" Laka asks.

"No," I repy, pursing my lips as of to stop the truth forming. For some reason I can't admit out loud to Laka what I've done. Maybe it's because he of all people will know exactly how Steve must be feeling right now. I feel like I've betrayed them both. "But it's bad Papi."

"Something to do with Steve?" Laka presses knowingly.

I feel fresh tears starting and squeeze my eyes shut, nodding now, wishing he were there. I need someone to lean on and be held by, there have been times I don't deserve it like now yet Laka won't ever hold back on holding me or showing how much he cares.

"Yeah," I finally reply.

He stays silent and I try to pull myself together, sucking in deep breaths and calming myself down.

"Danny?" I close my eyes and pull in a sharp breath as Dad comes on the phone. He sounds worried and I hate myself more now for worrying them as I am. What a fucking mess. "Tell me what's happened."

"I can't tell you that Dad," I reply, ashamed.

"Daniel, you called us for a reason," Dad tells me, firm but kind as always before he repeats himself. "Tell me what's happened son."

I take a breath and stare out over the ocean stretching out over the distance. The sun isn't high yet, causing the sky to light up with bright yellow and orange streaks. Surfers already prick the view as they race the waves. I drum up some courage and remember I'm a grown up talking man to man with my Dad.

"I fucked Maui," I say quietly, shamefully, voice barely audible. "Last night, in my bed, while Steve pretended to be asleep beside us."

The truth hangs shamefully and heavily around me, on the air, a stiffling presence as Dad takes in my confession. There's a long silence, more uncomfortable than telling him the truth. I know he's more than dissapointed in me considering I've been telling him things have been fine between Steve and me, that the relationship was deepening and that I was getting somewhere with it, despite my worries and concerns that it wouldn't work out.

"I'm sorry," I blurt out. I need someone to forgive me and Dad is the only person who knows and perhaps understands my guilt in some way. And I need to be assured he doesn't hate me for it.

"Why Danny?" Dad says, more a retorical sighing than waiting for explanation. He's tired of my playing games and just wants me to make the commitment of loving Steve and accepting that that isn't going to be easy or straight forward for either of us to figure out.

"I was angry at him, with him," I say shamefully. In the light of day it's such a pitiful excuse, my life when it comes to Steve seems to be filled with pitiful half decent excuses. When did I become such a monster? "I was angry about - stuff. I just, I got drunk and I felt the need to prove something to him, to everyone."

"And what did you prove?" Dad asks me, still firm and I can hear he's dissapointed in me but he's always been there to listen to me, to give me advice.

"That I'm no better than any other Owner in his life," I spit out angrily, at myself this time. "That I'm a fucking son of a bitch who doesn't deserve him only he'll never understand that because this will make him feel he's worthless and dispensible. Make him feel like he's felt all his life, that he's nothing and nobody."

Dad lets me vent and then we fall silent again. I don't know if I want his forgiveness or his wisdom so I can fix this.

"You should go home and talk to him Danny," Dad tells me after a long pause. "And I mean talk to him, truthfully. If that means opening up and pouring out your heart to him then so be it. About what happened last night, about how you feel and have felt since you bought him. He's going to be feeling confused and upset and he may not understand or be able to express himself like you but you need to give him that chance and he won't open up to you unless you make the first move. If you aren't going to do that then once the baby is born, you should seriously consider returning him to the market. Because you can't keep doing this to yourself or him, you're hurting so much I don't know how much you can take before you do anything more drastic because you can't accept you're in love with a slave."

The last part hits me full on, like a slap to the face. I bristle in response and grip the wheel.

"You think I'm ashamed?" I respond quickly, angrily. "Because he's a slave. You think I can't accept a Master can love a slave? How can you say that when you know how I feel about Laka and you? You're my parents for fuck sake!"

"I remember the reaction of a young boy finding out his Dad loved and had a relationship with his slave," Dad retorts gently, reminding me of my younger days. "I'm not trying to hurt you by saying it Danny, but you need to stop being afraid of what everyone else thinks and start being brave about how you feel about him. He needs that from you. Stop thinking between the lines of society and what his purpose is and start living your life, as a man in love with another man who just happens to be owned by you. It's okay to love him, to be in love with him. There is no law to decide who you fall in love with my boy and fuck society if they have a problem with it, it's their problem, not yours. People think they can sleep with their slaves but they find it impossible to love them? If I'd denied how I felt about Laka, do you think I'd be the same person I am now? Do you think you'd be who you are? Where do you think Laka would be?"

I can't imagine life without Laka. He's been a part of it since I was born, his relationship with Dad has a complicated history but since I was eleven I've known they were more than Master and slave to one another. Laka is as much a father to me as Dad and Pop. After we lost Pop, Laka was a comfort to me and Dad in ways I can't begin to explain. I wouldn't like to think of Dad without Laka in his life, Laka is a source of strength and support to him. Never mind that they are completely in love and devoted to one another. Dad wouldn't be the same person and neither would I.

"No, we wouldnt be," I answer honestly. "But what I've done to Steve, how I've treated him. He should hate me -."

"But he doesn't," Dad tells me. "At least, it sounds like he doesn't. Give him a chance Danny or let him go."

The idea of selling Steve repulses me, makes me shudder, a shiver of cold runs in my spine at the fear of it. I can't think of my life without him, can't understand how I lived so long without him. When I first lay eyes on him I wanted him, it was like a jolt inside me, physically, emotionally. I'd have paid thousands of credits to own him, fought off any competition. I convinced myself it was just lust and the idea of his being an Incubator was perfect because I wanted to start a family. But really I fell in love with him from that moment and have been falling ever since, flailing as I try and make sense of how being in love with a slave will work in life. It isn't going to be easy, but then life never is. Dad made it work but I know it's been a hard road for the both of them, maybe that's why I'm so reluctant. I've been in love twice in my life, but neither of those experiences come close to how I feel about Steve, not even Jules, who I still have a special place in my heart for. He'll always be my first love and part of me will always wonder what would have happened if life hadn't taken him to New York and kept me in Hawaii. 

But Jules isn't Steve.

"Danny," Laka comes back on the phone and I sink back into my seat, relaxing at the sound of his voice. "When you think of me, what do you think?"

"You're my Papi," I say without thinking hard. It's just a natural reaction to the question, I don't have to think hard.

"And what does that mean?" Laka presses for more detail. 

"You're my father," I tell him with a small smile. "The one who gives me hugs and reassurances. You're the quietly supportive one. Pop was the firm one. Dad's the wise one. But you're all my parents."

"And when you think of Steve, what do you think about him?" Laka says gently.

I think of Steve, beautifully handsome, eyes like windows to his soul. They betray every emotion he feels, even when he doesn't realise it. His body is defined with muscles worked daily by his chores. His laugh makes it impossible not to smile in reaction. They way we bicker playfully and at times I forget he's a slave and I'm a Master and we're just two people enjoying one anothers company and companionship. When I'm around him I want to protect him, wipe away the hurts he's suffered over the years, from my own hands as well as other Owners. Sometimes I watch him quietly when he thinks he's alone, the way his hands rove over the baby bump and he talks to her, tells her about our lives together, one big Ohana. How she's going to be a precious gift loved and adored. Like she's the one person he can be open with because she's part of him, and it reminds me that a part of me is living inside him also. When I see him like that it makes me jealous because I want him to talk to me the way he talks to our baby. Our baby, I can't think of her as being anything other than belonging to the both of us and not just me because he's just an Incubator.

"I think he completes me," I admit quietly. "I think maybe I love him more than I've loved anything in the world and the idea of not having him in my life, it creates this pain inside. I'd rather lose everything and be left with just him than contemplate living without him."

"Then tell him that," Laka tells me firmly.

"What if he doesn't feel the same way?" I ask and I'm a coward, afraid of his rejection.

"At first he may feel he doesn't," Laka says honestly. "He's a slave Danny, he doesn't understand love the way you do. Being in love, it isn't a natural feeling for us, but you learn to understand it. You learn to embrace it. The way you describe it is how I feel about John and there isn't a day goes by he doesn't tell me he loves me. You need to do that Danny, tell him every day that you love him, more than as a slave, even more than as a lover. Because your Dad may love me and you may think of me as your father but I'm still a slave Danny. I need to be reminded every day that I'm so much more than that to you and him."

"The things I've done to him, said to him," I begin and Laka cuts me off.

"If he loves you he'll forgive you," Laka assures me. "But first Danny, you have to forgive yourself."

~

I don't rush home to pour out my feelings, I still feel guilt for what I did yesterday and I've no idea how to face him. How can I pour out my feelings to him after doing that? And I need to make amends to Maui also. I do go to the office, just to avoid going home, though I've little to do there but sit and muse on my behaviour and my conversation with Dad and Laka. I fill myself with coffee and masaladas and work up the courage to go home where no doubt I've a house full of confused, nervous slaves wondering about my recent behaviour. I've a lot to make up for.

Eventually I drive home, letting myself in having worked out what I'm going to say in explanation, a practised speech in my head to Steve. But I sense theres something wrong, the atmosphere heavier than I expected as I walk through the house. The slaves are quiet and wary as I come into the kitchen where they are sitting eating, Steve isn't with them. Maui sits in the corner, head down and I notice the slaves all giving him small glances at my arrival.

"What's going on?" I ask Kame before I even say hello.

"Better ask Maui," Kame replies with a nod towards him.

"Maui?" I ask carefully. I fucking hope he kept his mouth shut about what happened yesterday between us, I can't have the slaves frustrated and confused over my behaviour. Things are bad enough already.

Maui lifts his face to me fearfully and I see the black and blue bruise on his eye and cheek.

"What happened?" I ask, my stomach dropping because I already know the answer. Steve happened.

"Steve punched me Sir," Maui replies meekly.

This is bad, a slave hazing another slave I've no problem with, if it's a justified excuse and even then they have to check with me. Usually Kame is the one meting out the hazings but it's a very rare situation. But my slaves getting into physical fights is unacceptable.

"Come with me," I order Maui, walking out into the hall where I can question him alone.

I bristle with anger at Steve, at myself and at this whole fucking mess. I know it's all my own fault but the black eye Maui has sickens me that Steve can go this far without thinking of the consequences. I had a plan to come home and talk to him and yet I find myself angry at him for testing me like this.

"What happened?" I ask Maui though I already know Steve's reasons. He hit Maui because I slept with him but fuck it, Steve didn't want me touching him which was what made me angry in the first place. All this is fucking ridiculous. Why does love have to be so fucking complicated?

Maui looks at me nervously, looking fearful, of me? of Steve? I can't tell. "I fixed your sink Danny, you know the faucet that was faulty? Then I asked Steve how he was and he just punched me. Maybe because of last night?"

He asks so nervously and sincerely that I feel a thread of guilt and pent up anger run through me.

"Gods, fuck it," I yell, marching to the bedroom and throwing open the door.

Steve stands and stares at me for a good few seconds before looking beyond. Without a word he crosses the room and closes the door and I turn to him for explanation.

"What the fuck Steve?" I blurt out in question, not the first words I wanted to say to him today.

He shrugs and I'm taken aback at his easiness bordering on insubordination as he walks past me again.

"I got angry and I hit him," He informs me, like it's nothing. Like Maui deserves to be punched when really, in reality, it's me Steve should be hitting out at.

"He said he fixed the sink, asked you how you were and you hit him," I point out to him, hoping he'll give me more explanation.

He looks at me with some surprise and I'm a little taken aback. As if I haven't got the full story, but then what else could it be? I slept with Maui so Steve hit him out of jealousy. It's a simple explanation.

"It was a little more than that," he says defensively.

"Explain it to me," I ask expasperated, my hands waving as I wait for more.

"He wound me up," he says and I roll my eyes at him.

"Try harder," I tell him.

He sits on the bed with a sigh and it frustrates me that it's all come down to this. Me causing my slaves to fight one another.

"Fuck, is this because of last night?" I blurt out, feeling the sting even as I say the words.

"No," he says stubbornly, not looking me in the eye.

"You going to punch every other slave I've fucked in this house the past few weeks?" I yell at him in exasperation and hating myself for going there. I say it just to get a rise out of him, to get him to respond to me. "I'll go tell them to line up."

He looks up at me sharply and I feel a pain inside as I see the pain my words inflict on him. It's like I've opened a wound and I can't stop digging at it. I feel my anger dissolving as I take in what suffering I've been causing him. And I'm still trying to hurt him now. Why?

"No need to get them to line up, just bring them to bed like you did him," he tells me and gods I just want to fall on my knees and hold him, kiss him. But mostly beg him to forgive me.

"Steven," I start quietly but he lowers his eyes, shutting himself off from me. I can see the walls rising as he straightens up, a pure form of subservience before me.

"I'm sorry Sir, I'll apologise to him," He says meekly. I feel myself panic as he continues, feel myself losing control again. "I shouldn't have hit him. It was wrong of me and he didn't deserve it."

"Don't Steve," I beg, putting a hand onto his arm. "Don't shut me out. I shouldn't have brought him to bed last night. I knew it was wrong but I thought, fuck I was so frustrated and angry with you and I wanted to hurt you. But I knew, even when I was fucking him I knew it was wrong of me, I regret every moment of it. I'm sorry baby."

He looks at me confused, lost and frightened and I feel him shaking under my touch as he tries to control himself. I want to hold him and comfort him, assure him I'll fix everything if we can just have some time. He shakes his head at me, trying to pull away.

"Don't. Stop apologising, stop treating me different than what I am. Please stop, I don't know what you want from me, I don't know what you want. I can't give you what you need right now and if your not going to fucking take it as is your right, then go fuck all your other slaves and stop apologising for it. But please, please I'm begging you Danny, stop treating me different. I don't want to feel like this any more."

I soften my touch on his arm but I don't pull away. I feel myself calming down, take in his words and realise maybe all is not lost. Maybe there is some hope from this fucking situation I've put us in.

"You don't want to feel like how any more?" I ask quietly, hoping he'll open up to me.

"Like you fucking care," he says suddenly, pulling his arm from my reach. "More than you should. That I mean more to you than I should when I don't."

I realise he's angry and confused. Considering my behaviour recently I can't blame him for feeling that way towards me. He gives a laugh as he waves at the door before he sits heavily on the bed, defeated.

"Steve? You okay?" I ask him quickly in concern.

He replies that's he's fine and looks at me with desperately sad eyes. A sadness I've created and he's consumed by. I should be creating a happiness and fulfilment in him and all I'm doing is destroying him instead.

"I am sorry Steven," I admit, like a confession. I need to start apologising and making up for what I've done and why put it off? "For everything. I'm still trying to figure this out for myself and I've let you suffer because of that. I should never have brought him in here, I just did it to hurt you and I ended up hurting both of us."

I swallow down hard, seeing him taking me in with searching eyes, confused at my behaviour as I apologise and seek his forgiveness.

"And I shouldn't have said what I did. I haven't gone round fucking everyone in the household. I just said it because I knew how it would make you feel."

"Except Maui," he mutters under his breath.

"Just that one time," I sigh guiltily. I need to speak to Maui also about what happened, he's owed an apology also.

"But he said," Steve says quickly before stopping and I look at him, the way he says it makes me frown.

"He said what?" I ask him firmly, knowing something is wrong. "Steve, what did Maui tell you?"

"It's nothing," he shrugs but I know him too well and evidently there is more to the story of Steve punching Maui than merely from jealousy after what happened last night.

"Baby, we're already dealing with enough shit as it is without you lying to me," I say firmly. I need to know the truth. "What did he say?"

"He said that you'd been fucking all week," Steve admits to me and I feel my stomach lurch at what Steve must think now. "That you bringing him to bed wasn't the first time."

I feel a thrum of anger towards Maui for saying such a thing. He would have known Steve was vulnerable and used the situation to taunt him. Perhaps it was to hurt both of us. What angers me more is that it's a lie and Maui covered the lie with another by implying Steve hit him just because I fucked him yesterday. Steve must see my anger as I pull away, telling me to go easy on him.

"He knows the rules, he lied to me," I bark back at him, opening the door, shouting of Kamekona and seeing Maui standing in the hall way.

I grab him and pull him inside, my anger channelled now on him even though I'm the one whose caused this whole mess. But he looks at me with knowing eyes and fuck, he's just heaped more problems onto the situation. I watch him cower away from me, fully understanding he's in trouble and before i can stop myself I slap him hard. He stumbles to one side and I feel the sting in my palm as I look at him. Behind me I hear Steve gasp sharply as Maui looks at me, eyes full of fear and confusion.

"Danny please," Steve says behind me. "We were both at fault."

I turn to him helplessly, trying to keep control of the spiraling situation, weakly explaining myself.

"He lied," I tell him, like that's all explanation need even though I feel guilt now for lashing out as I have done. I'm the one to blame for all of this. If it had been the slaves behaving in such a way I'd have them hazed. I get off lightly because I'm a free man.

"Yes and it was wrong of him," Steve says, looking me straight in the eye. Maui isn't the only person whose done wrong in this household.

"Something wrong boss?" Kamekona asks bewildered from the doorway. I turn, looking at him and then to Maui who's taken a few steps away from me.

"Take Maui to his room and make sure he stays put," I tell Kame. I look at Maui and he's a lot to learn, I was honest about needing my slaves to trust me and even if this situation is out of control, he still lied. I can't have him thinking it's okay. "This isn't the end of all this Maui. You'll be lucky I don't have you carted back to the market by the end of the week."

I'll let him stew on the words for a day or two, it won't hurt him to learn a lesson on honesty. I can see how the fear of being returned to the markets affects him as Kame takes him away but right now I've more important matters to deal with. I stare at the now empty doorway before turning to Steve who's watching me warily. I realise now is the time to begin making amends.

"We need to talk," I tell him before leaving the room. 

If I'm going to pour out my heart to him, I need some dutch courage. I grab a beer from the fridge and get him a bowl of fresh pineapple chunks, something he's craved since carrying the baby.

I go back to our room and find him waiting, still wary and watchful. He has no idea I'm about to pour out my heart to him and I've no idea how he is going to react. With a deep breath I close the door, cross the room and pray to the gods that I can fix the mess I've been making of our relationship.

~

I didn't think opening up would be easy, but once I begin I can't stop talking. I tell him about my parents, about growing up with them in my life. I've owned him for a few years now and I've never spoken about them. We talk about when i first started out on my own, the business, the house, filling it with slaves and creating a household. The longer we talk the more I find it's what I've been missing and denying, sharing memories with someone. He can't share them or understand them if I don't tell him about my life. I know all about his history, his papers tell me everything I need to know about his life. But they don't tell me his personal stories and I want to know, everything. I want him to trust me enough to be honest and open about his past, no matter how painful it will be.

I tell him about Dad and Laka. He takes in what I'm trying to tell him with a cautious expression. I know he understands what I'm trying to tell him, even if I'm going a long way about it. But I want him to understand it's okay for a Master and slave to be in love. 

I take a deep breath before I open up about how I felt seeing him that day in the markets. Dad had always told me when he saw Laka he knew he belonged to him. I always kind of assumed it was just Dad getting nostalgic and romantic about how he loves Laka, but when I saw Steve, I felt the same thing. Sometimes, two people just belong to one another and I knew I had to have him in my life, not just as another slave filling the household. I needed to connect with him in other ways. I wish I could simply say 'I love you' but those three little words don't seem quite enough.

He agrees I'm a fuck up, giving me a smile and I feel something lift inside. Like this giant weight I've been carrying with me forever is suddenly gone. Then he's talking and all I can think of is everything is going to be okay. We're going to figure everything out and I love him, pure and simple, I love him and he loves me. He doesn't need to say anything because I can see it in his face but then he says the words and it's nice to have them spoken aloud so they can't be denied later.

I promise myself that whatever happens from here on in, I won't ever hurt him like I did last night. I can't take it back or make up for it, but I can show him every day that I love him. Just like Laka said, I need to do that for him. 

Every day.


End file.
